Edward b



E. E. BEAN. Disabling Cannon.

Patented Jan. 5, 1864.

llnrrnn Smarts Parana tries.

EDWVARD EQBEAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

J L. H. STRAVV, J. A. LOCKE, AND E. LELAND.

IMPLEMENT FOR DlSABLlNG ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. lillllfi, dated January5, 1864.

.To aZZ whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. BEAN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented a Plug for TemporarilyDisabling Cannon, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View ofthe instrument ready for use; Fig. 2, alongitudinal section through thesame on the line :0 w of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a transverse section on theline y y of Fig. 1; Fllkt, aplan of the inside of the lower head, 0;Fig. 5, a view of the lower portion of the key; Fig. 6, an end view ofthe same; Fig. 7, a view of one of the pins j detached and the springthat surrounds it.

The ordinary method of disabling cannon or rendering them temporarilyuseless is to drive a rat-tail file or steel spike into .the vent, whichcannot be withdrawn without the aid of a drill or other appliance notusually at hand on the field; and in some cases a shot or shell isdriven firmly a short distance into the gun, and it is thus renderedtemporarily useless when captured by the enemy; but either of thesemethods are objectionable, as, on the other hand, if the gun isrecaptured it p is still unfit for use, and also in drilling out thespike the vent is liable to be enlarged and the gun thereby injured.

My invention has for its object to remove these objections; and itconsists in aplug which can be inserted into the bore of the gun, and byturningakey be locked or held immovably in place, so that it can neitherbe withdrawn from nor forced farther into the bore without the peculiarkey with which it was locked, by which means a gun can be instantlylocked up and rendered useless to the enemy, and in the ,event of itsrecapture the plug can be quickly withdrawn by the use of the key,without the gun having been in the least injured thereby.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention,1 will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out. p

In the accompanying drawings, A is a shell or plug of cast-iron or othersuitable metal,

which is made of a little less diameter than the bore of the gun. Tothis shell is fitted a face-plate or head, B, of hardened steel, and atthe opposite end a head, 0, (of the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4,) whichare held in place by bolts to projecting from the head B and passingthrough the shell A and head 0, where they are secured by screw-nuts 6,thus holding the parts firmly together. The shell A is turned outconcave at its lower end, and has its center bored out, as seen in Fig.2, to receive the central cam, D, the shaft h of which has its bearingsin the head Oandshell A. Three mortises, E, of ithe'form of a segment,are out from the periphery of the shell to its center at equal distancesapart, into which are fitted segments F, of hardened steel, the outerfaces, 12, of which are roughened in a manner similar to a file, andtheir lower ends rest against the central cam, D. These segments areprovided with pins 0, Fig. 8, on which they rock as centers, and thesepins slide up and downin slots (1 in the shell A, being pressed towardthe center by spiral springs e.

f, Fig. 2, are spiral springs, placed one on each side of the segmentsF, which serve to keep them in a central position. The central cam, D,is constructed with three inclines, Fig. 3, one for each segment F, bywhich means, as it is turned, the segments will be forced outward andtheir roughened surfaces 12 brought firmly into contact with theinterior of the bore of the gun; and it will be seen that any pressureapplied to either head of the plug to move it longitudinally will rockthe segments F against the resistance of the springs f, and tend toforce their roughened surfaces 12 still harder against the surface ofthe bore, thus wedging the plug tightly in place, and the greater thepressure applied the greater will be the force with which it will bewedged into the bore, thus rendering it impossible to with draw it untilthe cam D is turned so as to allow the springs e to press the segments Fin toward the center, when it will be free to be drawn out of the gun.The cam D is turned to operate the segments F by means of a key, G,having three prongs, 9, Figs. 5 and 6, of different lengths, which fitinto corresponding grooves out longitudinally in the shaft h. The

cam D, however, is held from being revolved,

except with the proper key, by the following device: Holes 9, of theform shown in Fig. 2, are drilled longitudinally through the cam D,leaving shoulders i. In these holes are placed pins j, each of which hasat one end a collar, Z, having a lug, m, which projects into and slidesin a groove, 10, in the cam D, each pin having its lug set at adifferent distance from its end. Spiral springs 7a surround these pins,and are confined between the shoulders 73 and the collars Z, and serveto press the ends of the pins into a series of holes, 0, in the shell A,and thus prevent the cam from being revolved. When, however, the key G.is inserted, the prongs g, being of the exact length and combinationrequired, strike against the lugs m and force back the pins j until theyare clear of the holes 0, when the cam D can be revolved by turning thekey G. If, however, a key should be used having a different combinationor length of prongs g, the pins j would either be forced too farback,causing their opposite ends to project through the cam and into a seriesof holes, 12, in thelower head, 0, Figs. 2 and 4, or else they would notbe pressed back sufficiently far to clear their ends from the holes 0,thus rendering it impossible for any one not possessing a key with theexact combinations required to withdraw the plug from the gun.

q is a projection upon the shaft of the key,

I which catches under a lip, 8, projecting from one side of the hole 11in the head B, so as to permit the plug to'be drawn out by the key. Thisprojection catches under the lip 8, however, only when the uppersurfaces of the segments F are flush with the periphery of the plug.At-other times the key is free to be drawn out, so as to leave the plugin the bore of the gun. The projection (1 also acts as a stop to preventthe key from being pushed in too far. The head B, being of hardenedsteel, will resist any attempt to pick the lock and prevent the attemptto drill through and destroy the interior works.

This plug can be carried in a suitable boX on the gun-carriage, so as tobe always at hand in case of a surprise.

I do not wish to confine myself to the precise details here shown, as itis evident thatthe consinus serted into the bore of the gun as far asthe length of the key G' will permit, and the key is turned withsufficient force to bring the roughened surfaces 12 of the segmentslfirmly into contact with the interior of the bore. The key is nowwithdrawn (the projection (1 having passed the lip 8) and the gun iscompletely disabled, it being impossible to move the plug longitudinallyin either direction, as the great er the force applied the tighter itwill be wedged into the bore by the rocking of the segments F, and anyattempt to blow it out by inserting powder at the vent would be likelyto result in the bursting of the gun. It will thus be seen that in caseof a surprise the gun can be instantly locked up and rendered useless tothe enemy, while in the event of its recapture the-plug can beimmediately withdrawn and the gun used without its having received theleast inj ury,which is not the case where the gun has been disabled inthe usual manner.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. A plug for temporarily disabling a cannon, which can be inserted initsbore and locked in place, and can be again removed withoutinjury tothe gun by asuitable key, substantially as described.

2. The segments F, operated by the central cam, D, in the manner and forthe purpose substantially as described.

3. Operating the cam D by a combination key and lock, in the mannersubstantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

4. The projection g on the key G, and lip 8 on the head B, by which thekey may be em ployed for introducing or removing the plug, substantiallyas set forth.

E. E. BEAN.

WVitnesses:

P. E. TESCHEMAOHER, N. W. STEARNS.

